READY FOR WINTER
First significant snowfall of season hits parts of Capital Region
Parts of the Capital Region on Tuesday were dealing with their first significant snowfall of the holiday season.
Numerous schools were closed for the day because of the snow — which started falling late Monday night and continued into Tuesday afternoon — including Saratoga Springs City School District, Ballston Spa Central School District, or opened two hours late like Hoosic Valley City School District and Schuylerville school district.
Saratoga Springs had about 4 inches of snow, the National Weather Service office in Albany said Tuesday afternoon. Saratoga Springs could get another inch or so by Wednesday morning, the office said.
Based on expectations, officials said, the storm was on par. No significant snowfall is expected through the weekend. The NWS said no snowfall was reported in Troy.
In Saratoga Springs, the department of public works began plowing streets shortly after snow started falling.
“It probably got a little heavier right around 4 a.m. [ Tuesday.] That’s what time we brought [most of] the guys in,” Anthony “Skip” Scirocco, deputy commissioner of public works, said.
Scirocco said the main roads are the focus for the morning commute, but he said, based on what he saw while driving, the side streets looked pretty decent, for the most part.
“It’s obviously the first snowstorm and people have a tendency to put
“It’s obviously the first snowstorm and people have a tendency to put the pedal to the metal ... but people need to realize that when you get snow between your tires and the road, it’s not a good combination.” — Anthony “Skip” Scirocco, deputy commissioner of public works for Saratoga Springs
the pedal to the metal, and I talked to people over in the police department, and they said got a lot of cars off the road, but people need to realize that when you get snow between your tires and the road, it’s not a good combination,” said Scirocco. “You’re going to definitely have some issues, but as they get done plowing, they also salt, so it takes a while for the salt to melt the snow and clear up the roads.”
Saratoga Springs police said as of 2 p.m. there were seven accidents, one with a minor injury.
Rensselaer County Emergency team said Tuesday afternoon that everything was calm and there were no major accidents.
Officials with the state police said they had no solid numbers in regards to accidents, but there were at least a dozen of accidents between Exit 16 and Exit 18 on the Northway. Police said there were no serious injures.
Geri DuMortier was shoveling a sidewalk outside of Congress Park on Broadway in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday morning. She said she had been shoveling for a few hours.
“With this, it’s constant. You just got to keep going over it and over it so it doesn’t build it up too much,” said DuMortier, who has worked for the DPW for 16 years. “The plows come through and push the stuff back, which they can’t help, so you got to keep it clean for the pedestrians.”
DuMortier, who is 69, has a secret to staying warm.
“You bundle up, and you just keep on working and that keeps you warm,” said DuMortier.